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Danisa Masuku
It is a warm Wednesday morning; Sunday Life Sport crew finds its way to one of Highlanders legends Bennet Staddon. Its a few minutes drive to his place of residence from town — Northend suburb.
He welcomed us well to his house and pointed us to a shade where we sat for a long chat. His long-time sweetheart, Sadra, chips in here and there with some essential pieces of information.
We get to the main agenda. Bennet is of mixed race and was born in 1949 at Richard Morris Hospital in Bulawayo. For his education he attended Embakwe Mission and Founders Secondary School. This is where he developed interest in football.
At secondary school he played as a centre forward or left wing and that was to be his usual position for his entire footballing career. While he was only 16 years old still pursuing his secondary education he was selected into the Rhodesia Under-16 schools select. They played against Mozambique select and South Africa select.
Now having found his feet in football in 1966 he joined Cobras FC, an outfit that was owned by Cold Storage Company. A match between his side and Highlanders FC’s second string side was a spring board to Super League side Highlanders first team in 1969. Sadly during that match he suffered a serious ankle injury which saw him spending almost four months in hospital.
He reveals that Highlanders had to swiftly step in by paying for his medical bills.
“One of the Highlanders executive members confided in me while I was on the hospital bed that they were interested in me and they would pay for all my medical bills. I agreed,” he reveals.
Racism in then Rhodesia was rife. Despite being a person of mixed race Bennet reveals that he suffered racism as well.
“Despite being a coloured I was viewed as a black person, so when we played teams which were dominated by white players like Salisbury Callies we would not be allowed to go into their dressing rooms. We would change in a store room where ground equipment including whitewash was kept,” he reveals.
He reveals that since racism was at its peak as a result an afterthought about his move to Highlanders popped up: “How are the players going to treat to me and how will the Highlanders multitude of fans react at me? These are the questions which gave him sleepless nights and nagged him for most of the time at the hospital bed.
His wife Sandra who has been a pillar of strength to him says: “I had to advise him to give it a try and his talent will do the talking for him and he did. I’m happy to say he did not face any ridiculing or name calling whatsoever or any sign of discrimination during his tenure with Highlanders.”
Bennet adds: “I felt at home. The players and executive were so good.”
Soon after he was discharged from hospital the Highlanders executive signed him for $300. What did he do with the money that could buy a house at the time?
“I did not do anything meaningful. I blew it up on beer and on other sort of things. I was a naughty guy but thanks to Sandra for bringing order to my life,” he says looking at his wife adding: “If it was not her essential advice and standing her ground if I had committed any offence I could have died a long time ago. I had money and soon after joining Highlanders I became a celebrity and led a celebrity lifestyle,” he shares.
At Highlanders the stars he played alongside with are Tymon Mabaleka, Edward Dzowa, Boet Van As and Daniel “Dhidhidhi” Ncube who later on turned out for Dynamos.
He says he had a good understanding with Dhidhidhi.
“Both of us played upfront but he was our gun man and most of the time I would play behind him. We clicked well. We became a formidable force,” he cherishes the moment.
He says one of the players who gave him a torrid time was Rio Tinto defensive midfielder Joseph Zulu. He says during his era the league boasted of quality, unlike now where there is lot of quantity.
“During my playing days most of the teams had talented players and regardless of which team was playing fans attended matches in numbers and football was entertaining, unlike now where the PSL teams are dominated by a lot of quantity and pretenders,” he says.
He joins a prevalent chorus that Highlanders needs a gunslinger.
“Well, for me it’s a wait and see . . . they (Highlanders) have roped in Tafadzwa Sibanda and Tinashe Makanda as strikers but I will put my head on the block and say Highlanders still needs a gunslinger who would score goals and bring joy to Highlanders supporters. I know the team has no money, all they can do is scout for a potential hungry budding striker from lower Division and groom him,” he says.
At the end of 1972 he secured a job in Botswana. He had to part ways with Bosso and joined Gaborone United FC. He says it was a difficult decision to make but he had to consider his future.
“I got a job at a company that sells building material and there was a good package that I could not ignore it. While I was with Gaborone United I stayed with Gaborone Mayor Siboni who was a shareholder at Gaborone United,” he recalls.
He says he faced a turbulent time at the Gaborone-based side. What really happened?
“I had settled in well at the team and I was one of the senior players. Siboni recommended me to be a player-coach. He (Siboni) engaged the coach Zero Johnson; however, Johnson did not take kindly to that. He started to ill-treat me during training sessions,” he recalls.
He adds: “At one point there was a bust-up during a training session, consequently he blocked my move. Seeing that life had now turned nasty I had to part ways with Gaborone United.”
After spending three seasons with the side he had to return to Zimbabwe in 1976 and called time on his career.
He then secured a job at Hwange where he served for 28 years as a plate layer while his wife worked for 14 years at the same company as a cartographer. He left Hwange for Mozambique where he worked for two years.
Fact file
Bennet Staddon is 69 years old. He was born in a family of 14 children. He is the only one from his family who played soccer.
He has been married to Sandra for 45 years. The couple is blessed with three children namely Jack, Shawn and Lloyd. They worship at Jehovah’s Witness. Now he is a farmer.
Online Reporter